It's All Greek To Me

As we explore our area in Brooklyn more, we also develop favorites. We headed back to Tai Thai for some of that great green papaya salad. I tried a new item, the veggie dumplings, which were so soft and plump you could just eat them up. Which I did.

Dinner was at Kefi, a big beautiful Greek restaurant on Columbus. It was spacious, airy, and they had divided the eating area up into three sections, so no matter where you sat it felt like a smaller, more intimate space. The food portions were large and filled with feta. My favorite was probably the tomato salad that came with croutons, cauliflower, onions, and of course, lots of feta.


Green Papaya Salad (Som Tum):


Veggie dumplings:


So much Greek food:

Champagne Goes With Everything

Started the day getting lost trying to find Five Points, a brunch place near the West Village. There were six of us eating together for brunch, and only two of us claimed we wanted mimosas, me being one of them. We were able to convince one more member of the table to be indulgent with us, which meant we could order the full pitcher of mimosa, which at this place consisted of orange juice, champagne, and triple sec. Thirty dollars bought us so much mimosa that all six of us each had two glasses. The food around the table all looked good, but I was totally engaged in my brioche french toast that was soft like delicate little pillows on my plate. It came with pecans and a side of whipped mascarpone cheese with shredded basil on top. I left the restaurant feeling luxurious, sated, and, I’ll admit, a little tipsy.

After spending the afternoon watching They Might Be Giants in Prospect Park, Sandra and I headed back to Hilary’s apartment so the three of us could go to Pinto, a classy Thai restaurant. Deciding that prosecco would be appropriate for a girl’s night out in an area known for being the setting of Sex and the City, we ordered a bottle and toasted. The green papaya salad and crunchy fried mushroom rolls with dipping sauce were a good start, but the basil and tofu main course I got really filled me up without feeling weighted down. It was a nice mix of tofu, veggies, and lots of basil. Although, for a dish named “Basil”, I was actually expecting just a bit more basil. Can you have too much basil? Okay, you probably can, but nonetheless I was expecting a dish that was primarily green.

Continuing the Sex and the City theme, I stopped at Magnolia for a cupcake. Now, I have never actually watched an episode of Sex and the City, but that did not make the cupcake any less yummy. The type of cupcake was called “hummingbird” and had cream cheese frosting with nuts. Unbeknownst to me, while I was in the store my two friends were buying me a present at the bookstore across the way. Back at my sublet I opened the present on the pretense that since it had been pouring rain on the ten block walk from the subway I should really make sure it hadn’t gotten too wet. The New York Restaurant Cookbook: Recipes from the Dining Capital of the World. Thank you!

Pinto (you can tell it's classy from the sign):

"Basil":

Cheers:

In Which Kirstin Gets Her Wish

We had a delicious brunch today at the place that is right across the street from where we’re staying. It’s called Simple Café. I ordered a goat cheese and tomato omelet with sides of green salad and fruit (no watermelon). It came with homemade bread in the form of little bready dew drops perfectly cooked. In addition, I ordered a raspberry mimosa. The waitress with a French accent asked if I knew that the breakfast plate also came with coffee and orange juice. Oh yes, I knew. I knew that this meant I was getting three drinks, not even including the cucumber-infused water provided at the table. We sat on the porch of the café both facing out toward the street and I was so happy with my wonderful breakfast that I didn’t mind the car alarm going off right in front of us.

Dinner was at Tai Thai on Bedford. After swearing we were going to try a place that didn’t serve Asian cuisine for another straight night, we wandered up and down the main drag reading menus, and finally decided that we could always do non-Asian on another day. This place had a really good green papaya salad without too much fish sauce, well-prepared fresh spring rolls that were denser than usual and covered in tamarind sauce, and some great pad thai that hit the spot. I kept looking up at this sign that said “cocktail room” in neon lights, so we ordered the first cocktail on the menu – something with vodka, honey, and ginger, I think. Sweet and fresh-tasting like lemonade, but not so much that your mouth tingled. And at the end of the meal, while looking for the bathroom, I followed the sign for “cocktail room” down the hall and found another big room in the back with a bar (presumably this was said “cocktail room”), and a back porch for tables. I would probably want to sit there next time, but in this nice summer weather, the front room where we sat had the large glass doors to the street open, making it also very airy. The other thing I have to mention about this place is the staff. The fast service was absolutely remarkable. We had barely even put in our order when it was on our table.

We finished the evening with friends at a bar nearby that also had bowling, although we didn’t bowl. Someone knew someone who knew someone (or something like that) so we each were given a large pretzel stick dipped in chocolate on the house. An unexpected treat at the end of a day filled with good food.

So much liquid:

Brunch food:

Thai food:

Day 4 Simple Cafe and Tai Thai

Disclaimer: Our internet has been down for the last four days so we couldn't post anything. Now we're going to catch back up!

We woke up late this day and headed straight to the city to get tickets at the TKTS booth. An attempt which was easily thwarted by the fact that they don’t open until after three p.m.

Kirstin badly wanted some real breakfast food so I figured this was as good a time as any to check out the cafe across the street from where we where staying. A very sleek looking place called the Simple Cafe.

Kirstin ordered some sort of egg concoction. She wanted fruit instead of potatoes but with no watermelon. Then she ordered a mimosa as well as the orange juice and coffee that came with the menu. Our vaguely European waitress seemed very amused by this. I had a burger with blue cheese and no bun, the only thing I could really eat on the menu besides a huge streak frites.

The food was fine, my burger was juicy and the fries a perfect level of fried and salted. What wasn’t fine was the price for my patty of ground meat and potatoes I was charged a full $11. I don’t mind spending money on food but when I know the cost is something like one tenth of the price I pay my feathers get a little ruffled.

For dinner I was determined to eat some food that wasn’t Asian since our last three meals dinners were Japanese, Malaysian, Japanese. I figured we’d just walk down Bedford toward the party we where going to and find something. With me and Kirstin’s dietary restrictions (No wheat, mammal meat, milk or eggs) that was easier said than done. After much searching we gave in and settled for a little Thai place called Tai Thai.

This place was surprisingly good, we ordered green papaya salad, spring rolls and Pad Thai, all the Thai basics. Each dish was a perfect example of how it made it’s way onto every Thai menu in the states. The pad thai was sweet and tangy, the spring rolls fresh and crunch and the papaya salad was actually, I think, the best I’ve ever had.

The place seemed to be run by at least four waitresses who all tended to each table. They weren’t the most pleasant servers I’ve had but it was by far the most time-efficient eating experience I’ve had that still tasted good.